ALPHA ATHLETES - The Sphinx Magazine

and economic downfalls. It was here, however, that Brother Dr.
Phillip Edwards, who later became a successful physician and an
expert on tropical diseases, won a bronze medal in the 4x400
meter relay. Brother Edwards, a Canadian, would go on to participate
in two more summer Olympic Games. In 1932, he won bronze
medals in the 800 meter, 1500 meter and the 4x400 meter relay;
and in 1936, he won a bronze medal in the 800 meter relay.
The 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles were not as tranquil as the
one that preceded it, having occurred at the height of the Great
Depression. Yet, several Alpha Brothers overcame the odds and
won medals for their country. In addition to Brother Edwards,
Brothers Thomas “Eddie” Tolan and Ralph Metcalfe also competed
in those Games. Brother Tolan set two Olympic records while
winning gold medals in both the 100 meter and the 200 meter
races. Brother Metcalfe—who later served as a U.S. Congressman
in the House of Representatives from 1971 to 1978 and was a cofounder
of the Congressional Black Caucus—won a silver medal in
the 100 meter and a bronze medal in the 200 meter races. Brother
Metcalfe competed again in the 1936 Summer Olympics where he
won a gold medal in the 4x400 meter relay race and a silver medal
in the 100 meter dash.
The Berlin Olympics
Adolph Hitler’s military advances on the European continent
around the time of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany
set the climate for what many later referred to as the “Hitler
Olympics”. In spite of the arduous circumstances, a number of
Alpha Brothers who participated in the Games preserved and represented
their country with dignity, intensity and tenacity.
Joining Brother Metcalfe at the 1936 Olympic Games was
Brother Frederick “Fritz” Pollard, Jr.—the son of Brother
Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard, Sr., the first African American
head coach in the NFL—who earned a bronze medal in the 110
meter hurdles. Brother Cornelius Johnson won a gold medal in the
1936 Olympics high jump competition and Brother Dave Albritton
won a silver medal in the high jump. Further, Brother Archibald
“Archie” Williams earned a gold medal in the 400 meter race and
Brother John Woodruff won a gold medal in the 800 meter race.
Perhaps the most noted Alpha Olympian of all times, Brother Jesse
Owens, won four gold medals during the Berlin Games—winning
medals in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter race, 4x100 meter relay
and the long jump.
It has often been stated that Brother Owens’ gold medal wins
humiliated Hitler by proving to the world that Nazi claims of Aryan
superiority was a lie and as a result the German leader snubbed
Jesse Owens at the 1936 Games. However, Jesse Owens’ reception
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by the German public and spectators in the Olympic stadium was
warm. The German audience’s cheers of “Yesseh Oh-vens” (“Jesse
Owens”) or simply “Oh-vens” (“Owens”) were overwhelming.
Brother Owens was a true celebrity in Berlin where he was mobbed
by autograph seekers. He later claimed that his reception in Berlin
was greater than any other he had ever experienced.
Hitler did shun an African American athlete at the Berlin
Games; however, it was not Jesse Owens. On the opening day of the
Olympics—just before Brother Cornelius Johnson won the first
gold medal for the U.S. that day and was to receive his award—
Hitler left the stadium early. Prior to his departure, Hitler had
received a number of winners. Olympic officials later informed the
German leader that in the future he must receive all of the winners
or none at all. After the first day, he opted to acknowledge none of
the athletes.
Ironically, the real snub of Jesse Owens came from his own
President who never publicly acknowledged Brother Owens’
achievements. Almost two decades passed before an American
President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, honored Brother Owens by naming
him “Ambassador of Sports”—in 1955. More recently, the
Adidas athletic footwear company has honored Brother Owens’
tremendous accomplishments by giving him a running shoe.
Brother Owens was wearing track shoes made by a German company
from which Adidas and Puma later evolved at the time of his
Olympic feats.
Generations of Olympic Success
London, England played host to the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Because of World War II, these were the first Olympic Games since
1936. In spite of the causalities that America had suffered, the U.S.
won more gold medals that year than any other country. One U.S.
gold medalist was Brother Don Barksdale who was the first black
American to be named a consensus All-American and the first
African American to play with the men’s Olympic basketball team.
Subsequently, he became the first African American basketball
player to win a gold medal in the Summer Olympics. Brother
Barksdale also became the first African American radio disk jockey
and television host in the San Francisco Bay area. In 1951, at age
28, he signed a two-year contract with the Baltimore Bullets,
becoming the first African American player in the National
Basketball Association (NBA). In 1953, he became the first African
American selected to play in an NBA All-Star game.
The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland marked the
first time that both Israel and the Soviet Union participated in the
Summer Games. The world watched as an Alpha Brother won two
gold medals. Brother Andrew Stanfield, winner of six AAU champi-